3.10

"Going to the temple was fun, wasn't it?" James inquired, taking a seat on the carriage seat as he watched Brandon sit beside him and wait for Nott to come with snacks to eat on the way.

"Yes." Brandon nodded, soon looking over at him. "Was it more fun than the magic tower?"

"Impossible! Seeing the tower was incredible." He denied and affirmed with determination. He got excited. "But I admit the tower would have been nicer if we could go inside." A pout crept across his face.

Brandon let out a laugh and said, "So seeing the tower was cooler than seeing the gods and learning about the history of the gods?"

"Clear." He responded. "While going to the temple was good and satisfied my curiosity a bit, the tower is the place every mage wants to see at least once. It's our sacred land, so to speak. Surely there must be many spells there that nor were disclosed and researches on various fields."

"I see. You really are a wizard." Brandon said in a low voice, sighing and smiling. "But I don't think we saw any gods related to magic in the temple." He thought about it for a while and it really was the case. Most they saw were elemental gods or gods with distinct characteristics, but none were of magic.

"Oh, I asked Mr. Lytt and it was because we didn't pass them. They're the other way. And even if we did, I wouldn't be like Nott and bow to them."

"Why?" He questioned curiously. Brandon really wanted to know, even though he knew that James wasn't much of a believer and wouldn't make such a scene like Nott, but at least he would pay respects in front of the statue of a god who represents the very object of passion that wizards have.

"Wizards thirst for knowledge and magic is their passion. The gods may represent magic, but they are not magic. The most I would have is an admiration that they are so skilled in its use and that they have a sea of knowledge. Although there are mages who believe in them and devote themselves, they are not the majority, the gods would be more like goals to be achieved from a mage's point of view." James explained, while gesturing with his hands.

He looked cute, in Brandon's eyes, with his purple hair swinging and looking at him seriously with the brown of his irises.

"Looks like your teacher is teaching you very well." He commented upon seeing him finish speaking.

"Mr. Below doesn't comment much on these matters, but he answered me when he was wondering if there were any wizards who believed. The empire is very religious and I don't think a wizard believes in them very much. So he explained it to me."

James spoke and Nott opened the carriage door and climbed in, a packet of scones for his young master's lunch in his hand. The purple haired one soon turned his eyes to the knight and went straight to the package in his hands, stretching his chubby and childish fingers to take and then feast on the sugar in them. Nott had barely sat down and James had already taken the lunch from his hands.

Brandon didn't comment on James' rude attitude in taking the bag without even saying anything to Nott. Although his brow was furrowed, it was an action that had been complained about a lot with him before when the two of them were together, but this time, he didn't say anything. The two were there to serve him, not a personal outing with friends. It would be a little inappropriate if he scolded you for it in the carriage; if it was on the street, at least it would be different, because they were in public and it was necessary to maintain the image of a young nobleman.

He was colluding with James, he knew that very well. He liked it when the other acted like a child and naturally in front of him and the friendship they had, after all, he was only 12 years old, you don't have to act for everything according to etiquette. However, it was attitudes like this that he usually warned him about.

The boy ate the first cake and Nott told the coachman to go. With the momentum of the horses, the wheels began to turn, moving the carriage forward. James shared his lunch with the two of them for the trip and chatted with both of them.

*

The familiar bear-emblazoned gates opened as they approached. The white mansion was present at the end of the trip, stopping the carriage in front of the door. It was the end of the visit to the capital that James had wanted so much, so there was a bit of disappointment on his face that it was over, even before he got out of the vehicle. He would like to have some more fun, because he doesn't even know if he'll have a second time to go out.

Brandon watching that couldn't help but say something to cheer him up. "Hey, don't be sad. I think if I ask the lady out, she'll let me again."

"He is sure?" James asked and thought.

In the county, he usually didn't go out. Her studies and entertainment were all done at home, either with private lessons or following Brandon around his work and playing with him. For as long as he could remember, it had always been like this. There were few times he left the property and it only got worse after the war started. He had no idea of sneaking out, because he would soon be discovered and he knew he would worry his parents and brother Brandon, which he didn't want.

The chances of his mother actually letting him out don't seem great, given the precedent, and he doesn't think she would, even if it was to date her.

Brandon seeing James' boyish face knew what he was thinking, it was clear given their time together.

"Yes I have." He stated. "You didn't go out mostly during those three years because the war started. Your brothers went to war and you were little, the lord and lady were worried about both of you and that if you left, something would happen to you. With the end of it, you must going out and also attending social events and visiting nobles, that sort of thing."

"Hmm, I'll try." He nodded and smiled, being picked up by Nott and lifted to be placed on the ground outside the carriage. "Thanks Nott."

"Available, young master." The knight smiled.

Butler Irvin had heard of the three's return and was waiting in front of the door, as elegant as he always was. He watched the young master smiling and coming to talk to Brandon through his blue eyes and he smiled, glad that the child was happy.

"Welcome back, young master James." He bowed respectfully.

"Hi, Uncle Irvin." He greeted him. "Is my mother back?"

"The lady has already returned and is waiting for her arrival. She will probably be in the hall."

"Serious?" James smirked. Brandon saw and could see that the young man was going to be up to mischief.

The boy reached his hands into his pocket and took out a bitten cookie, only to add one more. Brandon saw and knew what he was going to do, remembering what it was. Irvin watched him and exchanged glances with Brandon, as if asking what he was going to do, but Brandon didn't comment and remained silent. Nor did Nott speak. It didn't take long and the previously purple hair was dyed a jet black color as if it were dyed. It was impressive to see the hair change its color from its roots to the ends.

Excitedly the door opened and James walked into the mansion's entrance hall. A few servants stopped and looked at him, widening their eyes at the young master's different appearance; some even wondered if he even had purple hair when he left in the morning. The boy looked around and saw his mother nearby, in a room sitting reading a book.

Countess Miller raised her head with the steps that were so familiar to her and was surprised to see her youngest son with a mane of hair the color of her husband. Confused, she didn't have time to say anything before the young man jumped into her arms in a hug. She didn't know, didn't even notice, but the boy discreetly ate another piece of the cookie before releasing her.

"Hi Mom." James smiled, as if he didn't notice the surprise on his mother's face. "Like my hair?"

"Son, why is your hair black?" He asked, with the most natural expression. She looked at Brandon and the knight who was right behind her son. "Brandon, did you let him paint it?"

"This has nothing to do with Brandon, Mom. I thought my brothers had black hair and wanted to try what it looks like. Does it look good?"

Claire looked at her black-haired son and had to admit that her baby was beautiful, but with black hair it looked even better. The hair and color were identical to his father's and made him very handsome. Ferion was a copy of Count Ivan, but James with black hair was not far behind with his boyish face. She was impressed, but she couldn't allow him to have such a hair color, as it was enough for the two who didn't pull it off.

"It's pretty." She nodded. "But you can go back to purple."

"Why?"

"Because it's enough that your father beat me in the first two, I won't let him beat you too." She said.

She still remembered Ivan's teasing that his sons were more like their father and that they would be like their father when Phillip was two years old. She was glad the third one had taken her beautiful purple hair and allowed her to tease as well. They both knew it was a joke between the couple, but it was also a source of competition between the two at one time or another and she wasn't about to leave her baby to him. The other two she let, but not her James.

Of course, if James really insisted and wanted black hair, she would let him. It wasn't a big sacrifice and nothing to fuss over, except that she liked her purple hair.

James stared at her, incredulous that this was why she told him her hair was supposed to turn purple. He was thinking that she would at least scold him or be a little more surprised, and he even knew about the jokes between his mother and father, who, when they found out, deconstructed all the ideal image he had of the two, he just didn't think that the reason would be to don't let your dad win.

He didn't even notice that the effect of the biscuit was gone and her hair turned purple under the eyes of the countess, who narrowed her eyes at her son when she noticed something strange.

"Brandon, what's going on?" Claire asked him, knowing this time he would answer her. However, she didn't look at him, but was still in her son.

"Madam, the young master wanted to play a prank on the surprise cookie. He ate one earlier and its effect was to change his hair color to black, so he came up with the idea to surprise you." The redhead explained the situation, so polite and professional that it didn't look like he'd ignored the previous question.

"Traitor!" James watched him. "I trusted you!" He was outraged that his brother had betrayed him again. Brandon just smiled at him.

"Then that's it." The countess nodded. She knows the surprise cookie, it was a rage when it first appeared and was a popular product with children. "You just wanted to trick me."

James didn't say anything, his mother's tone said it all. He wasn't scared and he didn't regret it, seeing his mother surprised was funny. However, he knew that she would get her revenge. The lady of Miller House was a woman of many thoughts and she certainly knew how to hold a grudge, play pranks and win at a game of tongues, however her kind face left no sign of it.

"Of course not, just surprise you."

"Yeah? Well, we're going to have a little chat, young man." She said.

Brandon understood that it was time to leave and quickly nudged Nott for them to go. The knight saw him and followed, his body very close; he found it amusing the way Brandon had behaved and the play the young master was putting on. He almost laughed and it would have been a mistake in front of the lady.

"The young master was funny." Nott looked around and only saw one or two servants and the butler was long gone, so he whispered to Brandon as he walked out the front door. His stay was in the servants' building, on the outskirts of the mansion, so he wasn't in the main house. "He's not in trouble, is he?"

"Of course not. That usually happens. You must be just talking to him about what she did for the day. She sent us away to clear us up." Brandon said, not lying a word.

James would sometimes pull off a prank or two. They were rare, but they happened, and the countess only talked to him, without any punishment. They were all naive and did no harm, just a warning not to overdo it or go beyond a certain level. So, watching him eat a surprise biscuit, he said nothing to the countess or the butler Irvin, as it was a joke between James and his mother, and he knew that the countess liked her son's childishness in playing pranks on her. she, like her father who was more difficult to fall into one, but admired the attempt.

"Great." Nott spoke. The knight was a bit worried about the young master. "Are you going to see me these days? When is your day off? We have to visit the capital ourselves! I saw a weapons shop and a library, we can visit both if we go out sometime."

"Of course I will. And I don't know. I have to do with you."

"Hmm. I'm off then. Don't forget to come see me!" He smiled at the redhead, before leaving for the resident servants' building.

Unlike Nott, Brandon had a room near the back of the mansion, similar to the one he sleeps in in the Killos City mansion, and relatively close to the butler's. It was customary for trusted servants to better attend to their master when called upon, so he did not go with Nott on being dismissed by the countess and converse with him on the way, but shut the door and, in a professional manner under the look of some servants of the capital, walked to his room.

It was a little too much pressure to be under the eyes of those serving the same masters. It was different from the Killos mansion, where everyone knows each other and has a complicity. The servants who reside and tend to the Miller family mansion in the capital look up to him and perhaps even the gentlemen with a sense of superiority for living in the empire's capital and consider them rednecks. Even the butler was watching him, but it was more wary and suspicious, as if he were sizing him up to see if he could be trusted with the lords and their children.

This all made it a little uncomfortable, but nothing that couldn't be managed. It was still little better than being watched by the noblewomen who visited the countess from time to time, as some could not hide their covetous gazes and seemed to devour him at the first opportunity.

However, amidst those gazes, there was one he hadn't noticed and didn't even notice after leaving the hall. One was watching everything, from the moment James was tricking his mother and seeing that Brandon was side by side with a knight unknown to him. His eyes got a little dark watching them interact, even the smile for each other after parting at the door in the brief conversation they had.

It was a feeling that brought fire to his chest and a bitterness to his tongue, creating anger.

Phillip watched that scene at the top of the stairs, with his hand on the banister and squeezing it hard until his fingers were white from the lack of blood, but he didn't even realize it. He didn't like to see Brandon smile at a man who didn't even look as good as he did, but for him, since he came back, he hadn't even seen his shadow.

The most he could see was from afar, without being able to touch or speak. He still wanted to have a conversation with him, but he never found the right moment.

The second son of the Miller household knew that when his beloved was determined to flee, he would not appear before him as long as he was not forced into labor. So, the only way to see him and talk to him was to take him by surprise, but whenever he tried the same thing, he ran away, like a criminal running from the law. It was amazing how he knew it was close and avoided it as much as possible. It hurt his heart, but he knew it would when he followed the path.

So this time was an opportunity. And he was determined to win her over.

The noble walked to what would be Brandon's room and opened the door slightly, in an attempt to check if it was locked, but, unexpectedly, it was open. He wasn't followed and didn't see any servants around, so he went inside and saw the bedroom's living room, with his resident inside. The redhead was standing on his back, reading. That alone was enough to make her heart race and her palms sweat a little.

Brandon heard his door open and looked up to see who it was. He had left it open, as James had said it would come after a while, but as soon as he heard the footsteps enter the room, his body went rigid. The steps and presence were so familiar to him that he couldn't mistake them for someone else's. And with every sound the person made, a heartbeat happened.

Face rigid and neutral, he was forcefully indifferent, hiding everything he felt inside. His feelings were chaotic and his breathing slowed a bit, before he took a deep breath and turned around, meeting the black eyes that stared at him seriously. The arrogant appearance was still beautiful and attractive to him, as was the sharp face he liked so much.

There was no denying that this man, even three years apart from him, still affected him. However, that was it. And he knew his limits very well.

'He is not mine.'

His mind said, reminding him all the time that Phillip Miller was engaged and belonged to someone.

"Why are you here?" He asked coldly, showing no emotion. It was so sharp that Phillip was a little stunned, wide-eyed, by the way the redhead spoke to him.

"I came to talk." The noble replied after a moment. Not daring to move another step.

"I don't remember us having anything to talk about." Brandon snapped. "Please get out of my room."

"I won't leave until I talk to you."

At this moment, Brandon smiled nonchalantly. "Should I remind the young master that he is engaged? And that finding him leaving an employee's room while engaged is not very well regarded?"

Phillip didn't say anything, he just looked at the redhead who was staring at him with dull green eyes without any emotion. It was indifference and alienation that was oozing out of every pore of his beloved's body and an unsmiling smile was on his face. He was uncomfortable under the unfamiliar gaze that made him think of the loving gazes that were once for him.

They exchanged one last exchange of glances, one staring at the other to see who would give in, until Phillip sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I will leave if you answer me one question."

"Say."

"Who is he?" he asked, thinking of the one Brandon had smiled at just as adorably as he had in the past. A spark of jealousy arose at the thought of what he saw.

"He?" The green eyed questioned confused. He expected something different or clearer, not something he had no idea about.

"The knight you talk to." Phillip said. "I've seen you interact a few times on the trip and today at the salon."

With those words, a light flashed in the redhead's mind. The only knight he interacted with in the hall was Nott, although during the journey there were a few who accompanied them as guards. However, he didn't understand where Phillip was going with this. He was engaged to a woman, what interested him in relationships with other men? As much as there was nothing between him and Nott, it wasn't in the other's best interest, even if they were ex-lovers.

"And does it matter?" The indifferent voice answered. "I don't see where this is your business, young master."

Phillip looked at the white face and the pair of green eyes seriously. "That's my business."

"Why? Aren't you glad I'm close to him? Or maybe you're jealous when I'm with him?" He questioned with raised lips, as if taking the other's answer for granted.

"I just want you to tell me who he is."

"There's no need to tell you. Anyway, what I do with my life is my business, even if it's to be acquaintances, friends or even lovers. Not yours."

Phillip was irritated with Brandon's words, because he didn't answer what he wanted and just threw blades every time he spoke. He knew that the redhead was protecting that brown-haired knight by not mentioning his name or mentioning him, just directing the conversation towards himself, as if he were the center. It was so irritating to know that and it only made him angrier with each passing moment.

The jealousy in his chest was growing. In their relationship, he was very jealous, but he had complete trust in his beloved. However, now, they had been separated for three years and, at this point, he was engaged to Johannes, although he was confident in Brandon's character, he did not trust the other. He has already seen the knight a few times and started to observe him, he even knew his name, but his purpose was to know Brandon's attitude towards that man.

Suppressing his anger and gritting his teeth, he scowled at Brandon. "I do not want to fight."

"Least of all me, young master." Phillip frowned upon hearing that title again from Brandon's mouth. He noted that it had been said a few times so far and it was uncomfortable and made him feel a little angry as well.

"Stay away from him then."

"I don't want to. And like I said before, it doesn't interest you." He responded rudely, irritated by Phillip's unwanted intrusion into his life. "If it's over, please leave."

"Brandon…" He mumbled, but was cut off before he could even continue.

"Phillip, I don't want to remind you again that you are engaged and tell you that this situation is ridiculous. , so I don't know why it's behaving like that." Brandon said. "And again, if it's over, get out of my room."

Phillip was not happy that Brandon was practically throwing him out. He knew his engagement could have an impact on the redhead, but he didn't think it would have that much. The worst was seeing him protecting a nobody talking to him and jealousy running loose in his veins. He really had to do something to calm himself down, instead of going crazy. For the millionth time, he wondered if he really wanted to go down this path.

Seeing him leave, Brandon sighed and his body relaxed. His head tilted forward and his arm supported her on the table. A feeling that a headache was coming occurred due to the almost throbbing in his brain and a mental exhaustion when closing his eyes after such a situation.

He asked how his reaction was to the first 'decent' conversation with Phillip that just the two of them had had since he got back. If it was very indifferent and did not express anything of the unworthiness it was enduring because of the ridiculous, almost absurd questioning of him for him, it would be considered a success. But he knew he didn't show the heartbreak and sadness he harbored at seeing him standing there asking something like he owed him something.

It was Phillip who had betrayed him first. He wasn't the one who had the right to question him about his relationships.

A new sigh escaped his lips.

'Don't think about it anymore.'

Although it had just happened and with strong emotions and feelings, his tiredness was evident and he just wanted to rest. He wasn't prepared to see him yet and today was careless. He still had to stick to his plan, ignore them, avoid them and focus on work. The more you fill your mind, the better.

'Wasn't that the saying? A mind that is empty is the devil's workshop.'

And there was another one too that he thought, that time healed everything. Brandon didn't think this was true, it was more like 'time dulls everything', because no matter how much time passed, he was getting used to the pain, not curing it.